Specialty Spotlight: Science

As Gillispie finishes up the first month of this very different school year, I’m struck by how ‘normal’ certain things seem. Nobody’s curiosity has waned, and the world remains a place of wonder to the young minds I’m surrounded by.

Second graders have just planted some seeds as part of our look into the basics of life science. The next step will be to design and conduct an experiment to answer a question about these seeds.

Third graders have spent the first part of the year engrossed in learning the Scientific Method and are currently generating questions based on their own observations — about anything. The question we settle on will be answered through an experiment of their own design.

In fourth grade, we’re looking at rocks and minerals. So far, we’ve looked at our specimens and recorded properties available to us through visible inspection alone, but we’ll soon be moving on to putting these specimens through various tests.

Fifth graders are enjoying their dive into simple machines. They’ve been practicing doing “Work” (moving a mass over a distance). They’ve learned to measure force and distance and, by multiplying these, to calculate the work done.

Finally, the 6th grade is investigating genetics. They’re finishing up self-portraits that are labeled with some traits they’ve inherited, such as freckles, dimples, and the ability to roll their tongue. We’ve now begun an activity about dominant and recessive patterns of inheritance.

Chip Edwards, Science Teacher